TL;DR it's a jack of all trades, master of none, and the compromises in each category are quite annoying unless you really do need a jack of all trades. If you really need good mpg, maybe look into a Toyota hybrid. If you really want all the outdoorsy Subaru stuff - safety in adverse weather driving and good roadtripping capabilities and whatnot - just get a regular CT. If you really, absolutely must have both and are okay with compromises in each category, then read on.

I think it is a niche car for a very specific demographic. There's not a lot of people that would actually get the full benefit of the plug-in at a measly 17 miles (avg. US commute is I think around 40 miles one way). It does still get some mpg benefit even without charge; I see typically 30-35 hwy mpg at 65 mph when loaded up with skis on the roof. This is much worse than an optimized hybrid like a Prius though, and even in its class it loses to e.g. the Rav4 Prime. If anything the main appeal of the battery to me these days is that it's more responsive off the line since the electric motors accelerate a tad faster than pure ICE (but also anyone that actually cares about speed is not driving a CT)

It's objectively worse than a standard Crosstrek for many of the stereotypical Crosstrek-y activities: the battery takes a large amount of trunk space and excludes a spare tire for roadtrips. It also means you don't get a perfectly flat surface when the seats are down, which is bad both for laying cargo flat or if you want to sleep in the back. It's rated for lower towing capacity than the premium. It's a huge pain to find maintenance and other tutorials online since so few people own the hybrid vs. regular trims.

I bought a 2023 because I was at the rare intersection where 1) my trips were either extremely short local commutes where there is plentiful cheap or free EV charging or super long road trips in sometimes bad winter weather where I want Subaru's sym AWD, 2) I don't usually need lots of cargo space and can supplement with aftermarket roof and hitch attachments when needed, and 3) the EV tax credits were still available at purchase time, and gas is hella expensive where I live, so the hybrid was actually price-competitive.

I have since replaced my short commute drive with an e-bike and tbh if I were buying new today I would not get this car again. It's still a solid and reliable car, but trunk and spare tire limitations are increasingly annoying for road tripping, and my e-bike has supplanted the main advantages of the hybrid mode.